Thursday, April 29, 2010

Butter and Eggs Day Parade

Last weekend was Petaluma's annual heritage event known as Butter and Eggs Day. There are a handful of goings-on during this event, but the centerpiece of the whole t0-do is the parade which winds its way through the historic downtown area in the early afternoon.

Here's a few snapshots I took while watching from the North side of Petaluma Boulevard.

The parade was kicked off by the Nave Patrola, a local comedy marching troop that has been marching in nearby parades for over 35 years:

They were followed by a Marine Corps color guard:

Which in turn was followed by the Coast Guard color guard:

There were plenty of interesting floats and groups in the parade. Among them was Mayor Pamela Torliatt:

Here's a shot showing some details of the Mayor's ride:

Ginormous cow:

At some point I decided I need a really tall bicycle (to go with my top hat):

Kid's groups like the Redwood Empire Gymnastics:

Or Harvest Christian Academy:I had to keep an eye out for that one because all of the navular parts of their float were loaned to them by the Petaluma Sea Scouts.

There were also the usual allotment of marching bands.

Petaluma High School has a new look:

This look is complete with kilts:

I don't quite understand the kilts. Their mascot is the Trojans. I've heard there's a shortage of Trojans in the Scottish highlands, but what do I know.

Speaking of marching bands and style, there's nothing cooler than this girl with the retro 1980s sunglasses:

Nothing cooler, that is, except the drum major from Rancho Cotati High School:This particular drum major is also the ship's boatswain aboard the SSS Compass Rose and I've made it a point to post this picture of her all over the ship.

Of note were many of the old cars that appeared in the parade. The oldest was probably this one:

I found it especially fascinating because it had no steering wheel. Instead, the driver turned with a yoke:

There was also a pretty impressive showing by a local Volkswagen club:

Some of them weren't as pretty as others:

Of course, one of them turned out to be a lot faster than the rest:

Other than that, there were all sorts of horse-mounted entries. One had horses with really sparkly butts:

In the end it was a beautiful day and I couldn't have asked for nicer weather for the first Butter and Eggs Day Parade that I've been to in almost twenty years.